Introverts and Dragons
by JoeyJoBobJunior
Summary: My first all OC fanfic (with cameos by Nick Wilde and Jerry Jumbeaux Jr). A lonely giraffe named Suzie is looking for someone her size. When she's invited to play a game of "Castle and Dragons" at an ice-cream cafe, she meet's the owner's son, Junior-Junior. But the elephant is an introvert and prefers to be alone. Can she break through his shy exterior and get him to open up?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Guild Gathers

 **4:55pm in Nick's Minivan**

Nick was driving Spots, James, Suzie and a friend of theirs over to Jerry Jumbeaux Junior's Ice Cream Cafe. The kids were tagging along with James on his weekly get together to play "Castles and Dragons" at one of the tables.

"Thanksh for pick me up mishter Wilde!" said Amy Spitz. A zebra who's a friend of Suzie. She wears thick glasses and even thicker braces that make her spit when she talks.

Nick Wilde was wiping the spit of his face and cursing himself for letting her ride shotgun. "No problem Amy. Any friend of Suzie's is a friend of the family. Just...let me get my wipes."

"Shorry."

James and Spots were sitting in the back seats while Suzie was sitting in the far back with her head popping out of the sun roof and snaking around the corner to talk to Amy. "I'm so excited! There's gonna be games!"

"And boysh!" Amy added.

"And ice cream!"

"And boysh!"

"And music!"

"And boysh!"

"And Junior-Junior! EEEEE!"

"Who's Junior- Junior?" Spots asked.

"A boy my size! Finally! There's no kids my size at school. He's the youngest son of Jerry Jumbaeux Junior of..."

"Jumbaeux's ice-cream cafe." Nick finished. "Yeah. I remember that place. It's where me and Judy first met. Heh! I hustled her out of twenty bucks and made $200 off the jumbo pop me and Finnick got."

Spots leaned in. "So the first time you met mom, you ripped her off?"

"It's called a hustle my sweet, little hyena and yes, it definitely wasn't love at first sight but over time she earned my respect and I earned hers and eventually, we fell in love. By the way, if he's youngest, how come he has the junior moniker instead of his older brother?"

Suzie shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno."

"Here we are!" James said as they pulled up to the cafe. "Now remember Suzie. Junior Junior's kinda shy and a huge introvert. He likes having friends, yet he hates company and loud people so try not to be too forward. You gotta let him come to you. Okay big little sister?"

"Okay little big brother!"

"What's all this?" Amy asked.

James explained. "It ends up I'm the half brother of Suzie's foster sister, Sarah. So that makes me a half sibling to Suzie too. It kinda felt weird calling her my 'little sister' considering how big she is, so we came up with this."

"I think it's cute!" Spots added.

Everyone but Nick got out of the van. "Have a good time kids!" Nick shouted. "Pick you up at ten!" They headed to the door of the cafe' and the owner, Jerry Jumbaeux Jr. opened the door for them.

"C'mon in! Sylvester, Sam and my son are waitin' for ya!" It was then that Jerry saw Nick in his van about to leave. "Heeey wait a minute! I know you!"

Nick saw Jerry approaching. "Oh no!" His heart filled with fear as he tried to quickly roll up the window and take off..

Jerry jogged across the street which caused the ground to shake a little. "Hold up! I wanna talk ta you!"

"S-Sorry! In a hurry. Got...things and such! You know how it is with...things."

Jerry held onto the door. "Yeah, I know you! You were 'dat fox 'dat was in my cafe' about two years back."

"Oh. Ha-Ha! Well, you know. All foxes look like."

"I remember you were with 'dat little kid dressed like an elephant and you conned 'dat rabbit inta buyin' a jumbo pop."

"Well you'll be happy to know we're engaged now so everything worked out fine. Goodbye!"

Jerry leaned his arm on Nick's door which caused the whole van to lean to the point that Nick thought he might fall out. "Hold on! I heard what happened. You took that fifteen dollah popsicle and melted it down inta jars, then made molds outta yer paws and re-froze and re-sold those popsicles, making you and yer partner about two hunerd dollahs! That's $185 profit!"

Nick was getting more and more nervous. "I SWEAR to you sir! I'm not that fox anymore!"

Jerry started leaning his trunk to Nick's van. "When I found that out, I told myself that if I evah foun that fox...I was gonna reach over..."

Nick was starting to whimper. "Oh please don't kill me!"

"...And shake his paw!" Jerry grabbed Nick's paw with his trunk and shook it.

Nick was very confused. "Sooo..I'm not dead?"

"What?! Buddy you did me a big favah! I saw 'da loophole you found in the system and used it to my advantage. I got a mouse who works real estate in Little Rodentia to buy me a tiny cafe' there and now I've branched out. I can take one jumbo pop from here and sell dozens and dozens of 'em, makin' me a huge profit!"

A wave of relief fell over Nick. "Well! Glad everything worked out well."

"And another thing. I saw ya on TV last night and...I like what ya had to say. Made me fell like a jerk for refusing service to...certain people for so long. So...check out my new sign in 'da window."

Nick looked over and there was a sign. " _Now welcoming everyone._ "

"AAAWWW!" Nick said. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. You and yer family are welcome anytime. We got a small mammal menu now and we took one elephant table out and made several small tables with it."

"Well I'm glad I helped change your life in a positive way. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get home and wipe these tears of joy...and change my pants...because I peed my pants...because I thought you were gonna kill me."

"Ha! Sorry about 'dat. Have a good day!"

"You too!" Nick drove off and took a big whiff of fresh air. Which unfortunately now had the stench of fox urine. "Phew! Smells like stale cheerios in here. Well, I needed to mark the van as my territory so at least I got that done."

Meanwhile, the kids all walked inside. Amy hid behind Suzie because she was real nervous about meeting Sylvester. "Ish he there?" Amy asked.

"Yeah! I see him." Suzie replied. "Why don't you go say 'hi'?"

"Ooooh I can't! I'd jusht die!"

"Well you're gonna have to! We're playing a game together."

"I know! I'm jusht sho nervoush!"

Meanwhile, James saw a mole sitting next to Sylvester wearing a dragon T-Shirt. It was James' friend Sam. "Dragon! What's up stretch?!"

The mole had to leap up just for a low high five. "Jimaaay! How're you doing? You ready for some medieval action?"

"Yeah dude. As a bonus, I brought some new players. Ladies, this is Sam. We call him Dragon cuz he's into dragons and sitting at the table there is Sylvester."

Sam was happy. "Woah! Actual females! I knew having a popular guy in our group would pay off!"

Sylvester was shy and hid behind the menu. "H-Hi!"

"Guys, this is Susan. She goes by the nickname Suzie. She's my big little sister. I'll explain all of that in a bit."

"HI!" Suzie said gleefully. "Where's Junior-Junior?!" she asked excitedly.

"In the kitchen-kitchen." Sam replied.

James continued. "And hiding behind Suzie is Amy Spitz. Amy! Come out from there!"

Amy timidly came from behind Suzie and walked up to Sam. Sylvester was shaking nervously and hiding behind a menu. "It's an absholute pleashure to meet you guysh!"

"Thank you! I'm charmed." Sam replied. "I'm also soaking wet!"

"Shorry. It'sh my brashesh."

James quickly whispered to Spots. "We're doing the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, right?"

"Right." she whispered back.

James introduced the hyena. "And this is my new girlfriend, Vivian Wilde. She goes by the nickname Spots."

Sam and Sylvester had the jaws dropped. "Wooooah!"

"You got a girlfriend?!" Sam said in shock. "No way! You were always kinds shy around girls! Let's see you two kiss!"

Spots ears blushed red. "I'm not gonna kiss him just because you say so! I'm not some...kissing whore y'know?"

Suzie was confused. "Spots. I thought you were lesbian?"

"SUZIE!" Spots snapped back.

"Ha!" Sam replied. "I shoulda known. What with that punk rock shirt and the nose ring."

"Oh yeah?!" Spots said angrily. "Well...check this out!" She went to go kiss James, but she still couldn't quite do it. The pressure in front of the other kids was too much. She quickly thought of something else. She grabbed James' paws and rubbed them on her chest. "Check it out. He's feelin' muh bewbs!"

"WOOOAH!" said Sam and Sylvester. They were convinced. "Okay! Okay!" Sam replied. "You win! Now cut that out! This is a family restaurant fer cripes sake!"

James quickly took his paws back and he blushed so hard, they could almost see the redness through his fur. "O-KAY!" He squeaked out. "I-I-I'm gonna go find Junior-Junior. W-why don't you girls take a seat?"

Amy tried to sit across from Sylvester due to her shyness, but Suzie blocked her. "Oh no you don't! You little horsies should get to know each other."

Amy had no choice but to sit next to Sylvester. Butterflies were turning in her stomach as she tried to make the attempt to talk to appaloosa. "H-ha-hi -th-there. I-I-I-I'm ummmm...umm...I'm..."

"Amy Sptiz." Sylvester said. His eyes peeking over the menu that hid his face.

"Y-Yeah!"

He slowly started to lower the menu. "I-I'm S-Sylvester..."

"Shtallion!" Amy finished. "Vishe preshident of the shecond charter Shtar Boarsh fan club."

Sylvester put the menu down. "That's right! Boy! You know a lot about me."

"I-I shubshcribe to your Ewetube channel. I loved your 40 minute video on the morality of the Jedi nightsh."

Sylvester ears perked up in happy surprise. "Really? Wow! Thanks!"

Amy was happy. "Thish ish going much better than the lasht time I tried to talk to you. I tapped your shoulder, puked, then ran like hell. I wash sho nervoush!"

"Why? I'm nobody special."

"Are you kidding? You're sho cool! And I'm jusht thish dork with thick glashesh and brashesh that make me shpit everywhere."

Sylvester sat closer. "I think the glasses make you look real cute."

"Really?!"

"And I say 'spray it, don't say it'!"

Amy giggled with glee. "NEEE-HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEE!"

Meanwhile, James went to talk to Junior-Junior. He found him washing dishes in the back. The cougar leaped onto the giant sink to talk to him. "Hey Jay-Jay! We're ready to play some C&D."

"In a minute." said the young elephant. "I have to finish these dishes. And get off the sink! You know my dad hates it when you do that."

"Hurry up! I got some new players over. They're girrrls?!"

Junior-Junior looked worried. "More people?! You know I don't like a crowd Jim. I hate crowds! Especially if they're loud."

"They're not loud. It's a zebra, my new girlfriend Vivian and my big little sister, Suzie."

"Big little sister? What?!"

"I'll explain once we sit down. She's a giraffe. See her out there?"

Junior-Junior leaned over to look out the window at the table that the kids were sitting at. "The one siting near Sylvester and that zebra he's making out with?"

"WHAT?!" James looked out the window himself. Sure enough, Sylvester and Amy had a full lip-lock going. "Well THAT escalated quickly! Anyway, do you think Suzie's cute?"

"Yeah. Pretty cute."

"Good! Cause she came with me just to meet you."

"ME?! Why me? I'm nobody."

"There's no giant mammals at her school other than her. She wants someone her size."

Junior-Junior's dad Jerry came over and nudged his son. "Ya hear that Romeo?! Ya already got a girl waitin' for ya!"

Junior-Junior got real nervous. "I-I don't know. Maybe I'll just skip the game and go home."

"NO!" James and Jerry shouted.

Jerry was getting angry. "Listen boy! You're gonna get out 'dere and be friendly with 'dat giraffe! I'm sick'a you bein' such a wallflower!"

James tried to calm Jerry down. "Woah! Hold up. Putting pressure on Jay-Jay isn't gonna work. That's just gonna push him away."

"He needs 'ta stop hiding in his room and start socializin'!"

"Mr. Jumbaeux sir. Would you PLEASE let me handle this?"

"...Alright. Look son, I think you'd like this girl and you'd have a lot of fun tonight if you'd just go out there. Okay?"

Junior-Junior tried to give a smile. "Okay dad."

"Cool thing buddy!" James said. "Let me ride out there on your shoulder."

Junior-Junior picked up James and put him on his shoulder. "Thanks for calming my dad down. You understand me well. You're a good friend."

"Well I read up on introverts, so I try to give you your space. But you do gotta try to socialize more."

"I-I know. I'm just not comfortable around crowds."

Meanwhile, Amy was snuggling with Sylvester who was ecstatic. "Wow! I have an actual girlfriend! I can't wait to tall all of my friends!"

Junior-Junior peeked out from the kitchen and slowly made is way to the table. James introduced him. "Hey girls! This is Junior-Junior. His dad owns the cafe' and he's the reason we're getting free ice-cream tonight.

Sylvester spoke up. "Sam! Jay-Jay! James! I have a girlfriend! There! I told all of my friends.""

"I already know you have a girl." said Sam. "You were practically fornicating right in front of me!"

Suzie waved her arm. "Junior-Junior! Sit next to me!"

The nervous elephant agreed. "Oh. Ummm...okay."

The elephant hesitantly moved around Sylvester and Amy to sit next to Suzie. The giraffe was excited to meet him. "Wow! You're almost as tall as me! Only shorter by about three feet. You're kinda cute too."

"Ummm...thanks?"

"Can I hug you?"

"Wh-WHAT?!"

"I've never had my arms around a mammal my size. Not even another giraffe. Please?"

James gave her a mad glare. "Suzie! What did I tell you about being too forward?"

Junior-Junior was getting real nervous. "I-I better go get the ice cream."

As he started to stand, his father pushed him back down in his seat. "Relax son. I've got this," He then shouted out to the kitchen to his other son. "Hey Greg! We need more menus!"

Suzie apologized. "I'm sorry for being so forward."

"It's okay." Junior-Junior replied. He raised his arms up "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

Suzie wrapped her arms as best she could around the large elephant. "Oooooh! This is nice." She then started to cry. "I... _SNIFF!_ I can't even put my arms fully around him! This is wonderful!"

"That's enough Suzie!" James warned.

"Sorry!...Sorry."

Sam interrupted. "No offense, but I'm getting a bit sick of this lovefest going on. So what's new with everyone? Where are you ladies from? Amy?"

Amy was too busy having her ear nibbled by Sylvester. "HEHEHEHEHEE!"

"Well she's fully twitterpated. Hyena chick! What's your name again?"

"Vivian. I came back to Zootopia after being gone for a few years due to my parents being in witness protection. They're...they're gone now."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. While in Bunnyburrow, I saved some kids, including my foster sister from being eaten by hawks and even lost my foot in one of the fights. See?!"

She put her leg and metal foot on the table. The boys were impressed. "Wooooah! That's awesome!"

Spots smirked. "Yeah. I'm a badass. I got used to walking on it pretty fast. But it's weird. I still have that phantom pain. Like...it's still there y'know? I know it's gone, but my brain doesn't. I met James last Saturday after his mom died."

Sam, Junior-Junior and Sylvester were shocked. There was a moment of silence in the room until Sylvester spoke up. "Your mom passed away?!"

Junior-Junior was starting to tear up. "I'm so sorry Jim! I know what it's like to lose a mother."

"Thanks guys." James replied. "Things aren't so..."

He was interrupted by Sam the mole who latched onto James and started bawling. "BAAAAW-HAW-HAAAWW! I'm so sorry Jim! I met your mother several times at your place! She was always so nice to meeee! I know you did everything you could for her! Even though you did some purse-snatching and stole medicine, it was all for her!"

"Thanks Sam. Except for mentioning my criminal past."

"Do...SNIFF! Do you need a place to stay? I can see if I can fit you down the hole into Moleasia town, but I might bury you alive by accident."

"That's okay! It's okay. I'm actually doing pretty good all things considered. I don't wanna give all the details right now, but I already have a new mom and dad. They're wolves. They met my mom before she passed. I met Spots on Saturday."

"Spots?"

"Vivian. It's her nickname. I found out that Suzie's foster sister Sarah is my blood half-sister so that makes Suzie my little sister too. My weekend's actually been great. It's like...it's like God blessed me a ton to make up for taking my mother from me."

There was a moment of silence. It was interrupted by Suzie. "Well, as far as what's new with me, besides James being my little big brother, I found out Gazelle will marry my uncle soon so she's gonna be my aunt. By the way, she'll be at my Thanksgiving party and you're all invited! What else?...Oh! I bleed from my vagina now! It's like a waterfall...of blood."

There was another moment of silence until Sam spoke up. "Congratulations?"


	2. Chapter 2: The Tale Begins

Chapter 2: The Tale Begins

A/N: _The image of the cute giraffe I used for this story was my original inspiration for Suzie the giraffe. I've had her character in my head long before I started using her. My favorite part of Zootopia is the scale of everything and how it works. That's why I always wanted a giant mammal in my stories who interacts with the smaller mammals to see what she goes through._

 _I haven't played a tabletop RPG in at least twenty years, so you'll have to forgive me if I get things wrong._

Jerry's oldest son Greg was taking orders. "And what will you have Miss?" He asked Spots.

"Carrot cake and cream. My new mom's got me hooked on that."

James had a question. "Hey Greg? One thing I've never understood. You're the first born, how come Jay-Jay got the sir name?"

"You'd have to ask my dad. Anyway, I'll have your guys ice cream soon. I use my own style of making the cream that's REALLY delicious. I think you guys will like it."

As Greg left, Sylvester got on his phone to take a selfie. "Wait till my mom sees me with a girlfriend!"

James was curious. "How do you hoofed mammals hold your phones anyway?"

"Very carefully."

Amy Spitz leaned in to get in the shot. Resting her head on Sylvester's shoulder. "She'll be shurprished when she shees us shitting together."

This caused Spots to snicker loudly. Amy was a little upset. "What?!"

"Nothing! Nothing!"

"Do you think it'sh funny that I shit next to my boyfriend?!"

Spots couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah! Especially when they got a perfectly good bathroom in the back!" She started pounding her paw on the table and laughing loudly. A little surprised that no one was laughing with her. "WHAT?! Oh, come on! That's funny!"

"No it's not!" Suzie said with anger. "You know she can't help the way she talks!"

James helped put her in her place. "We got one important rule here. We don't poke fun at each other! For these guys, this is a safe zone from the bullying and name calling they get at school. Well, except Jay-Jay. He's home-schooled. I love you Spots, but if you do something like that again, I'm gonna ask you to leave."

Spots ears pinned down in sorrow. "James. C'mon! It was just a tease!"

"I'm serious!"

Spots looked over and saw Amy weeping in Sylvester's arms. She felt horrible. "Oh my gosh! I-I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry Amy! I was being a jerk!"

Sylvester snapped at her. "Don't you talk to her!"

"I'm really sorry! Look, I just got back to Zootopia and I have no girl friends outside of Suzie. I don't wanna blow a chance at having another bestie. PLEASE forgive me?"

There was silence from Amy. Spots continued.

"I'll tell you what? You can make fun out of something about me. Okay? Nothing's off the table."

Amy asked Sam to come over to him. She whispered something into the mole's ear. Sam then walked over to Spots. He gestured the hyena to bring her face closer.

Confused, Spots leaned in close to the mole who then grabbed Spots' nose ring and proceeded to knock on her snout like the ring was a door handle.

"OW!"

"Knock, knock."

"...Who's there?"

"Stew."

"Stew who?"

"Stupid nose ring."

The horses were starting to chuckle as Spots was a little embarrassed. "Alright. Alright. Ya got me. So will you forgive me Amy?"

Amy still held a bit of a grudge. "Well..."

Spots jumped off of her booster seat (they were at an elephant table thanks to Junior-Junior and Suzie) and ran over to Amy. "Please?! I was being a real jerk and I'm sorry. C'mon! You and me and Suzie can go on a girls night and have some fun! Please?"

"...SNIFF!..Okay! I'm shorry I'm being sho shenshitive."

"AWWW! Thanks Amy!" Spots jumped up and hugged Amy. She was tearing up a bit herself. "I promise. You, me and Suzie will go out sometime this week or next and go to the movies and get are manes done up. It'll be fun!"

"Shoundsh great!"

"Now that's the Vivian I remember!" Suzie said.

Spots didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Before your family left to Bunnyburrow, we used to hang out. You were like a big sister to me, but you were WAY girly-er than you are now. I mean, I could see the change happening shortly before you left, but we used to listen to boy bands and go shopping and get our manes done. When you came back, you were this butch tomgirl."

Spots tried to explain. "I hit puberty early Suzie. It changed who I was."

"Yeah but...that drastically?"

Spots was getting upset. "It's really none of your business!"

Amy agreed. "Vivian'sh right. You shouldn't preshure her about thish. She just...matured differently"

Suzie apologized. "You're right. I'm sorry Spots."

Sam was getting impatient. "Okay, okay. I've had enough of this girl drama! Can we start the game already?"

"Alright." James replied. "Now, since we have so many new players, we can't just continue our game from last week."

Sam was upset. "Awww c'mon! I got my thief up to level 16!"

"These three girls haven't played a tabletop RPG before so we're gonna keep it real simple."

Spots interrupted. "I have some experience playing these games with my dad. Want me to DM?"

Suzie was confused. "DM?"

"Dungeon Master. It's the person who narrates the story and referees the game so no one cheats and everything's fair."

"HAH!" Sam replied. "What do you know about being a DM?! You gotta have a good imagination and no offense, girls tends to make terrible writers."

Spots "EXCUSE me?! There's plenty of great girl writers!"

"Ah c'mon Vivian! Look at the evidence. 'Fifty Furs of Grey, Twibite, both hot garbage."

"And successful at the box office. Speaking of big name movies, what about that new movie 'Revenge of Frankenswine? Harry Porker?! Both had female authors and creators! So don't give me that crap!"

"I love Harry Porker." Junior-Junior commented.

Suzie saw her opportunity to get closer to the elephant. "Me too! I like all those Harvey Porker...books? Movies?"

"Both." Junior-Junior said.

"Right! Right! Hee-hee!"

James made the decision. "Spots is right. And frankly Dragon, you're being a bit sexist."

"Hey, it's more the exception than the rule!" Sam argued.

"That's only because it's a male dominated society and female writers don't get enough chances!" Spots argued back.

James was still playing referee. "Alright! Alright! Those in favor of Spots being DM say 'I!' "

"I" said all the crew except Sam.

"All those opposed?"

Sam just waved it off. "Ah forget it!"

"Great!" Spots replied. "Now, get your characters ready and give me the rulebook and paper."

James did just that, then gave everyone a character and stat sheet and asked everyone to quickly decide their characters.

James decided to go first. "I'll be my usual guy, Sir Jamesworth the Third! Royal knight. With my sword and shield, I shall vanquish the dragon!"

Sam then spoke up. "I am Samwise the thief. Silent and nimble, I use my small stature to my advantage."

Amy was next. "Let me shee...I'm...Lady Ameshworth, the white mage. I ushe my healing and shield magic to keep my Shylvetser-Weshter shafe!"

Sam protested. "Hey wait a minute! She's playing favorites!"

"Nothing in the rulebook that says she can't." Spots replied. "At least I think so. Geez! This thing is thick!"

Sylvester then spoke up. "I am Darkblood Edgeborn, the black mage."

Spots rolled her eyes. "Oh brother. Let me guess. You came up with that name when you were ten."

"Yes! How did you know?!"

"Lucky guess. I bet your character has chromatic eyes too."

"Yes they are! Two different colors! It's like you're psychic!"

"It's like you have no originality."

Junior-Junior spoke up next. "...I guess I'll be the archer."

"What's your characters name?" Spots asked.

"I dunno...Jerry?"

Suzie made a suggestion. "How about 'Gerald Lightfoot the elf-phant? Half elf. Half elephant."

The elephant smiled witch made Suzie feel all warm inside. "That's pretty good!"

"Tee-Hee! Thanks."

"So what part will you play Suzie?" asked Spots.

"I wanna play the dragon!"

Everyone looked dumbfounded at Suzie. Like she had rocksalt for brains. Finally, James spoke up. "Suzie...you don't play as the dragon."

"Why not?!"

"Because the way a tabletop RPG usually works is that a group of characters is on a quest and the DM gives them the story and adversaries to fight. But we fight as a team. It's not 'player vs. player'."

"That's a great idea!" Spots replied. "Let's do it!"

James argued. "No. That's not gonna work. Sam would never agree to it."

"I think it's great!" Sam replied.

"What?!"

"Look at her! That snout. Those horns! Those ears! Y'know, I never thought about it before, but...she kinda looks like a dragon!" Sam then started leering at Suzie. "Oooooh! Just strap a pair of webbed wings on her and...oh baby!"

Suzie didn't like it. "Stop looking at me like that. It's creepy."

"Yeah!" Junior-Junior added.

"Hey! I'm just admiring her beauty is all." Sam said with a wink. "You getting' jealous Jay-Jay?"

The elephant started to blush. "N-No! I just don't like the way you're talking to her is all."

Spots was getting annoyed. "Alright! Enough! Suzie's gonna be the dragon. Since you guys will be fighting her as the boss, it's only fair that her health points is the combined total of all of yours AND...I got a dual story worked out for both sides."

Sam was surprised. "Already?"

Spots growled at Sam. "What?! You think because I'm a girl I can't come up with a good story quickly?!"

"No. No. I'm just impressed is all."

"Good! Now shut up and pay attention!"

Greg came out and set out the bowls. Everyone enjoyed their ice cream as Spots began her story.

Since Spots is going to be the DM and telling the story, I will be having her talk in italics with centered text.

 _AHEM! Once upon a time, in the land of...madeupvia..."_

" 'Madeupvia?!' " Sam whined.

 _Yeah! Because I just made it up!_

"Oh brother."

 _AS I WAS SAYING!...Once upon a time in the land of Madeupvia, there was a kingdom that was flourishing in wealth. This wealth came from the gold they mined from a dungeon deep, deep underground. And when I say 'mined' I mean 'stolen'. For laying on top of the gold they were stealing was a dragon who had been sleeping for centuries. A dragon who once burned the land they now stand upon centuries ago, but as the dragon slept underground, the people of the land got complacent and built their kingdom just above her. They still talked about the dragon with a sense of dread and fear._

 _The townsfolk feared saying the name of the dragon known only as...Susan!"_

"TEE-HEE-HEE! That's me!" Suzie giggled.

 _Dragons don't giggle Suzie! Anyway, after the dragon had been sleeping on a pile of slowly shrinking gold for over 800 years, she had awoken! The people of the kingdom were terrified! For if Susan the dragon got out of her cave deep underground and made it to the surface, she would surely destroy the land again!_

"Ooooh! I'm a bad girl!"

 _Well DUH! You're a dragon!_

"That's specist!" Sam protested. "I'll have you know I've read many stories with nice and loving dragons. Most of them lemons, but still..."

 _ANYWAY The king of the land knew something had to be done! So, he had his best knights and soldiers go down deep into the underground dungeon to confront the dragon._

"Is that us?" asked Sylvester.

 _No. You guys come in later._

 _The knights saw the dragon! She huffed and puffed at them. Flames spouting from out of her nose. She looked and them and said...she said...Suzie, that's your cue._

"I have lines?"

 _This is a role playing game! This is your role so...come up with some lines!_

"Oh! Okay! Ummm. Hi there! I'm Susan the dragon!"

The gang chuckled as Spots corrected her.

 _No! No! No! You're fierce! You're mean! These people have been stealing the mass amount of gold you've been hoarding for hundreds of years! You wanna roast 'em and toast 'em!_

"Why? It seems like I got a lot of gold and should be sharing it."

Sam explained. "Dragons tend to hoard gold. They love the stuff. It's just part of who they are."

"Oh! Well, in that case...Hey! You stupid, dumb...buttholes! Get your people away from my gold or I'll...umm...I'll bite your wienies off and use my fire breath to cook them and turn them into hot dogs!"

Spots ears shot up in shock.

 _DAMN! Well that's a good threat alright. Okay! The game part begins! The knights and soldiers do not retreat! Instead, they charge right at you! What do you do?"_

Suzie thought about it for a moment. "I ummm...I breathe fire at them!"

"Where's the dice?" Spots asked.

James handed her a large, 20-sided die. "Here! We all use this one since SOMONE was caught cheating."

Sam protested. "Hey! I didn't know the dice were weighted when I bought them!"

"Surrrre. Here you go Spo-I mean, baby!"

Spots was confused for a moment, then remembered they were playing as a couple. "Hunh? Oh yeah! Thank you sweetie!"

She rolled the large die. "Sixteen! It hits!"

 _The dragon fired off an inferno that had built up in her body for hundreds of years! All the knights and soldiers save one are incinerated into ash!_

"YEEEAH!" Sam cheered.

Suzie felt bad. "Awww! Those poor guys! I'm sure they had wives and children."

"They're imaginary Suzie." Sam reminded her.

"Oh yeah."

 _Singed but alive, the remaining soldier crawled his way back to the king. "My liege!" He said. "Our best men have been burned to a crisp! The dragon shall soon come to the surface to take her revenge! What shall we do my lord!"_

 _The king knew he had only one choice. "Beyond the great mountains to the north, there lies the land of Viviana, where legend says there are five great heroes who are known to be great dragon slayers. I shall send a messenger to hire these heroes and money will be no object! For the sake of my people, I will even give up my kingdom to these heroes if they slay the dragon!_

"So are we next?" asked Sylvester.

"Yup!" Spots replied. "But first, a chapter break."

Suzie rolled her eyes. "Viv, leave the fourth wall jokes to your dad. Okay?"


	3. Chapter 3: A Quest For Love

Chapter 3: A Quest For Love

A/N: _I was originally gonna have Spots tell the entire tale of the quest, but I noticed I only got half the usual readers so I decided to make this story shorter. Although it seems to have an ending here, it actually keeps on going. The next chapter will start on Friday and since the whole 'Purge' thing is on Tuesday, their may be some spoilers._

Spots was ready to start the story for the rest of the gang when Greg came to pick up the bowls. "You guys enjoy your ice cream?"

"It wash great!" Amy said.

"Thanks! The cream is my own recipe. Enjoy your game!"

As Greg left Suzie made an observation. "He seems to enjoy his job. Is he going to take over the cafe when his father retires?"

James chimed in. "Actually, Mr. Jumbeaux plans to give the cafe over to Junior-Junior."

"Oh? Do you love making ice cream Jay-Jay?"

"Not really."

"But...why doesn't your dad give the business to Greg? He's the first born."

"I dunno."

Spots interrupted. "Look guys, we need to get back to the game. Can I continue the story where we left off?"

Everyone just shrugged their shoulders. "Sure." said Sam.

"Alright. Where was I? Oh yeah!"

 _Our heroes were sitting a a bar in beautiful Viviana. They were bored and restless. They had not seen battle in awhile and were eager to get blood on their hands. Well, except for the mages. They were perfectly happy with their studies. Samuel the thief was busy pickpocketing the patrons, while Gerald was beating everyone at darts thanks to his talent at aiming. As always, Sir Jamesworth was busy polishing his sword. He'd polish it all day and all night."_

The gang chuckled as James rolled his eyes. "Ha-Ha. Yeah I get it. Innuendo."

 _They heard the patrons gasp as a man came through the door. He was bloody, beaten and had arrows sticking out of his back. He could barely get any words out. "The...heroes five...I must speak with thee before I pass!"_

"What is it noble messenger?" James spoke.

 _Ooooh! I like how you're getting into this! "Cough! Cough! Dear heroes! Before I die, I must give you an urgent message. The fearsome dragon known as Susan has awakened deep beneath the caverns of the Madeupvia kingdom. The king has sent me on an urgent q...COUGH! COUGH!...quest t-to find you heroes and ask you to slay the dragon. He says the money is no object! He'll...COUGH! WHEEZE! He'll even give you the kingdom if need be!"_

"But who would get the kingdom?" asked Sam.

Spots wasn't sure what to say. "I dunno. Whoever lands the final blow?"

"That adds a competitive style to the game! That's great! You're really good at this!"

"I told you! Now shut up and let me tell the story."

"I'm all ears! Well, mostly two freakishly large hands with two thumbs on each, but still..."

" _Whosoever kills the dragon will have the kingdom and the princesses' hand in marriage!"_

"What about me?" Amy asked.

" _Well, it's a free kingdom we don't judge. Anyway, stop cutting me off! I'm dying here! COUGH! COUGH! A huge reward awaits you! But beware, for the path back is filled with treacherous danger! Dangers such as...such as...UUUUGH!" The messenger then died in front of them."_

Sam panicked and ran up to shake Spots' arm. "What dangers?! What dangers?!"

"You'll have to wait and see." Spots said with a smile.

"Oooh! Keeping me in suspense! I like it! You got a great gal Jim! It's like she's one the guys, only...not!"

James chuckled "That's a better description than you realize."

Suzie nestled her head by Junior-Junior. "Jay-Jay, I hope you're the one that kills me."

The shy elephant didn't know what to say. "Oh! Ummm.. okay."

Over three hours went by. The group fought goblins, trolls, monsters and more. They crossed treacherous paths and dangerous traps. They finally encountered Suzie. We now join back into the game near the tail end of the fight. Suzie is down on health and James plans on delivering the final blow.

"Alright!" James said. "Time for you to meet your maker Susan the Dragon!"

"It is YOU who will meet your doom Sir Jamesworth!" Suzie replied.

"Whose turn is it?" Spots asked.

"It's mine." Suzie replied. "And don't worry Jay-Jay, you're too cute to die, so I'll kill you last."

"Thanks!" Junior-Junior replied.

"Okay let me see...I'm gonna swipe my tail and hit Jimmy with hit."

Spots rolled the die. "Eight! Swing and a miss!"

"EEP!"

James was happy. "Alright! Your death awaits you big little sis! I swing my sword to chop off her tail!"

"NOOO! Get away! Get away!"

Spots rolls the die. "Sixteen! It hits!"

 _While the dragon swung her tail, the nimble Jamesworth managed to dodge it and sliced off the tail of the beast. Susan roared out in pain!_

"ROOOAR!"

"You don't have to do that in real life Suzie."

"Oh! Okay."

Whose turn is it?

"Mine." Said Sam. "But my HP is low, so I'm gonna keep back and let Amy heal me."

"My turn." said Amy. "I'm gonna put a shield around me, Sham and Jerry."

"What about me?" asked James. "I'm almost dead here!"

"I'm still upshet with you! You made me heal you inshtead of Shylveshter and he died the next turn!"

"He shot a fire spell at a dragon!" James replied. "Who does that?! It's like attacking someone with soap!"

Amy's spell was successful and Junior-Junior was up next. "Okay. Ummmm...I guess I can...Oh! I'll use ice arrows to try and freeze the dragon in place."

Spots rolls the dice. "Fourteen! Let's see..." She checks over JJ's stats. "Yup! It's effective!"

 _The valiant archer_ _shot arrows laced with ice magic at the dragon's legs. It held Susan firmly in place. Surely the dragon was doomed._

Suzie was now worried "Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" James replied. "You are totally done for! I run towards the dragon and go to stab her!"

"Okay, dice time." said Spots. "And...TWO! HA! You totally missed!"

James was upset. "No way! She was a sitting duck!"

 _The knight went to attack, but he slipped and landed just underneath the dragon._

"Alright! Now it's my turn! Can I sit on him?"

"Your legs are frozen in place." Spots reminded her.

"She can't do anything!" James said.

"Yes I can!" Suzie snapped back. "It's my turn! Let's see. He's under me. Legs frozen,. Can't turn around to breathe fire...I know! Tee!-Hee! I'm gonna poop on him!"

The entire table roared in laughter. Spots rolled the die. "HA-HA! Twenty! It's super effective!"

James protested. "No way! Let me see!" He took a look at the die."...Dangit! Can I raise my shield?"

"Wouldn't do you any good." Sam replied. "When dragons eat their food (which is mostly people) they often accidentally eat some of their gold as well. Over time, evolution has given them the ability to digest their gold, which means their insides are like a furnace. When their poop comes out, it's molten hot. It would melt James' iron shield and armor no problem."

Spots didn't believe him. "Are you sure?"

"Nobody knows dragons better than Sam 'Dragon' Moleson." James replied. "Oh great! I'm totally dead! Death by poop! Thanks a lot Suzie!"

"HA-HA! HA-HA!" Suzie replied. "I got you! I got you!" She then stood up on her seat and waved her butt in front of James and made fart sounds. "PPPBBBFRRRTTT!"

James was humiliated, but the rest of the gang laughed.

 _Seizing an...HEE-HEE!...an opportunity, the heh-heh! Dragon took a great big dump right on the knight. Her super -hot turd engulfed sir Jamesworth and he suffered a horrible, smelly fate. HAHAHAAA! The dragon managed to shake and free herself from her icy trap. Your turn Sam!_

Sam felt conflicted. "I don't wanna kill her! She's a dragon! I love dragons!"

The others moaned. "Dammit Sam! Don't let my stinky death be in vain!"

"I...I can't. I'll...I'll swoon her!"

Sylvester couldn't believe what he said. "Again? You're always trying to flirt with the dragons! Even the male ones! It never works and you wind up dead!"

"It will this time!" Sam replied. "I shall swoon her with a poem. Ahem!"

 _Dragon, Dragon, up so high._

 _Your beauty covers the sky._

 _Your scales glisten like shiny jewels._

 _Others won't listen because they're fools._

 _They don't see your beauty and grace._

 _They just attack with sword and mace._

 _But I believe your flaming breath_

 _Brings me warmth, not certain death._

 _Your sharp fangs, your webbed wings_

 _Are a beauty nothing else can bring_

 _I will stay while others flee_

 _' Cause dragon, my dragon, I love thee._

Spots just rolled her eyes as she grabbed the die. "Oh brother! Here we g-"

She was stopped by Suzie's own hand. (Or hoof. Hoof-hand? How come in Zootopia giraffes and Buffalos have fingers, but horses and zebras do not?) Anyway, Suzie stopped Spots from rolling the die. Her eyes where swelling with tears. "Don't! I yield. I yield."

She then turned to Sam as she wiped a tear. "Sam, that was beautiful! You really are a true poet."

Sam gushed. "Awww thanks! My mom always said I had a gift for words. Soooo. Does this mean I won?"

"Yep!" Spots replied. "You win! Now I gotta incorporate it into the story. So here's the finale."

 _Susan was ready to turn the final three heroes to ashes when Sam walked up to her_. _He stared deep into her eyes. He saw the beauty in her that no one else did. He honored her with a beautiful poem that to the shock of the others, moved her to tears. She stopped her rampage and fell in love with the thief._

 _With the dragon satisfied and happy, she agreed to help rebuild the parts of the kingdom she destroyed and became it's protector. The king kept his word and offered the crown to Sam. The thief graciously turned the king down and married not the princess, but the dragon._

Sam pumped his fist. "YESSS! Screw the princess! I'm marrying me a dragon!"

 _And while Susan the dragon long outlived the thief, she understood what love was and stayed a good dragon. She was beloved by the kingdom for centuries and they all lived happily ever after. The End._

The gang applauded Spots for her story and Sam ran across the table to shake her paw.

"Spots, I have never been more happy to be so wrong. That was a GREAT campaign! You can be our DM anytime!"

He then went over to Suzie and kissed the back of her hand. "And you my dear, make a WONDERFUL dragon!"

"Awww! Thanks!" Suzie replied.

This upset Junior-Junior a bit. "Back off Sam! You're being a creep!"

Sam huffed. "You're just jealous because I can actually talk to a girl. She actually likes you for some reason and yet you've been quiet the whole night. Be a man and actually talk to her!" The mole then left to go back to his table on the table.

This put Junior-Junior in a bit of a spot. "Well...ummm...I can talk! I just...don't always have a lot to say is all. I'm...I'm not a smooth talker or anything."

Suzie wrapped her neck around the elephant. "Well...maybe you'd be more comfortable with me if we got to know each other better. Maybe we could go on a date?"

Junior-Junior then got real flustered. "A-A-A date?! Well, ummm...I ummmm... I don't know. I tend to be real busy what with the ice cream cafe and ummm.."

Suzie was getting depressed. "If you don't want to go out with me, just say so!"

"No! No! It's not that! I just...ummm."

Even Sylvester was getting upset with him. "Dude! What is wrong with you?! You've got a beautiful girl here near your age who's into you and you don't even have the guts to ask her out?! Don't be shy! I finally got to talk to Amy and look what happened with us! Don't blow this!"

James was getting upset. "Dude! Don't pressure him! He just has a hard time socializing!"

"He's being a coward!" Sylvester snapped back.

Junior-Junior had enough. "I-I-I gotta go do dishes before it gets late! It's been nice meeting you all. I hope you all come next week. Sorry. I gotta go. Sorry!" He then ran off into the kitchen.

Suzie was left there, sobbing. "Wh-What did I do wrong?! _SNIFF!_ Wh-Why doesn't he like me?!"

"He's an introvert Suzie." James replied. "He prefers his solitude and has a very hard time socializing. It takes all of his will just to come to this game every Monday. When we first started our little get-togethers here, he'd just stay in the kitchen. It was months before he got the guts to come out of there and ask if he could join us. Just give him time. If you come each week, you'll chip away at him I'm sure."

Spots' cell phone buzzed. "It's a text from my Dad. He's outside waiting for us."

Amy was dissapointed. "Awww! Can't I shtay with Shylveshter shome more?"

"My dad picked you up. That makes him responsible for dropping you off. Your parents would be real upset if you came home with a guy they don't know."

" _SIGH!_ I guessh."

Sam jumped down off the large table. "Well, I'm heading home on the subway. It's been great meeting you gals! See ya next week!"

As the girl;s started to leave. James remained back. "I'll catch up girls. I'm just gonna go talk to Jay-Jay for a sec."

James went into the kitchen and hopped up on the sink. "Look Jay-Jay. Don't listen to Sylvester, but you need to know she does...Jay-Jay?"

Junior-Junior turned around. His eyes were wet with tears and he was sniffling. "He's... _SNIFF!_ He's right! I AM a coward! Here I find a girl who obviously likes me and I can't even find the guts to talk to her! Will she be here next week?"

"Probably. But she's only coming here for you. Look, I don't mean to push you, but if you keep on rejecting her, she'll never want to set foot in here! I know it's hard for you, but you've GOTTA make a move! For both of your sakes."

"I-I know. But what if I say the wrong thing?! Someone once said 'Better to be silent and let the world think you're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.' "

"But you're not a fool Jay-Jay. You're my friend! You're comfortable around me, Sam and Sylvester, so why not her?"

"James...it took me MONTHS before I could open up to you guys, Now we got three new people and...and they're GIRLS!"

"Yes. And one of them, my foster half-sister is nuts about you."

"...Are you sure?"

"She was draping her neck on you like a scarf! She's weeping right now because you up and left when she asked you out! She has no one her size at school, but it might not be like that forever and you'll miss your chance. Please buddy. Don't blow this. I want both of you to be happy. There's another saying. 'You'll never get a home run if you don't swing ' or something to that effect."

"I know. Thank you Jim. _SNIFF!_ I...I gotta get back to work."

James just shrugged his shoulders. " _SIGH!_ Alright. See ya next Monday."

"See ya."

As James left, Junior-Junior's father approached him. "Look son, I know it ain't none of my business, but she seems ta really like you and an outgoing gal like her WILL find someone. Hell, 'dat mole was makin' pretty good moves."

"You saw that?"

"Yeah. But...if yer happier being in yer room and writin' yer fanfic stories and playin' games by yourself, then so be it. I won't stop ya. I just want you to be happy. That's all. By the way, My friend will have that new Harry Porker book for ya by Friday."

"Yeah?"

"Two weeks in advance of the street date! It'd be nice if ya had a friend ta read it with. Share the juicy spoilers?."

"...Hunh."

James made it back to the van to find Suzie with her head out of the sun roof weeping. "Aww Suzie! C'mere big little sister!" He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her snout while rubbing her neck.

"W-W-Why doesn't he like me?!" she sobbed.

"He does! He told me. He's just super shy. He's afraid of screwing it up."

" _SNIFF!_ That's dumb!"

While in the van, Spots made an observation. "Why does it smell like piss in here?"

Nick's face was redder than normal. "Uhhh...Petey spilled some cheerios."

"Oh. I does kinda smell like that, only stale. I didn't know we had cheerios?"

"WELL WE DO!" He snapped.

"Okay geez!"

Nick decided to change the topic. "Did you kids have fun?"

"I got a boyfriend!" Amy shouted.

"Really?"

"Within seconds." Spots added. "I think it was a world record. Turns out Sylvester had as big a crush on Amy as Amy did on him. Oh! She's one of my new besties now!"

"Never heard you use that phrase before. Glad to see your making friends Princess."

"DON'T CALL ME...ah what the hell."

"How about you James?"

The cougar chuckled. "I lost the game. Suzie pooped on me!"

"...In the game?"

"Of course! Oh my God!"

"Okay! Okay! Just making sure I have the proper context."

"She was a dragon. I tripped and her boiling poop burned me alive."

"Ewww. How about you Suzie?"

With her head outside, Suzie twisted her neck around pushed it through the open window and plopped her head onto Nick's lap. "BAAAW-HAAAW! M-Mr. Wilde! Can I call you uncle Nick?"

"Aww! Yeah, sure. You're like family to me now. An annoying family member who won't leave, but still..."

"Uncle Nick! I w-w-went to this game night to flirt with J-Junior-Junior. A-A-And he w-w-was so shy! He... _SNIFF!_ He turned me down for a daaaate!"

Nick patted and rubbed her head. "Awww! I'm sorry sweetie! I'm sure you'll get him next time. Now please move your head, I won't be able to steer like this. Everyone got their seat belts o-"

Before he could finish, he felt a rumbling on the ground beneath the van. "On no! An earthquake!"

James pointed out of the van. "No! Look!"

It was Junior-Junior running at full speed towards the van. "WAIT! WAAAIT!"

Suzie immediately stopped sobbing and had a smile a mile wide. "Jay-Jay!"

Junior-Junior stopped in front of the van. He was panting and trying his best to catch his breath. "I... _PANT! PANT!_...I'm sorry for the way I acted Suzie. I was wondering if ummm...if you want to ummm...on Friday, I'm getting an advance copy of 'Harry Porker and the mid-life crisis'."

"They really need to let that series end." Spots said.

"If...If you'd like, maybe you can come by the house on Friday and...and read it with me?! My dad and Greg will be there."

"S-Sure!" Suzie said with excitement. "I love Harry Porker! I'd be happy to read that book with you!"

"Great! I'll text you and have my dad pick you up!"

"Awesome! I'll see you Friday then!"

"Cool! Bye!" He ran back to the cafe. As he opened the door, you could hear him yell "Dad! Dad! I got a date!"

Everyone in the car cheered. Suzie ducked her head back inside and let Amy and James hug her face.

"Congrats Suzie!" James said. "I guess my words got to him."

"James, you are the bestest little big brother!"

Nick looked back and smiled. "Well, since we got our happy ending for the evening, let's go! Gotta drop off Amy."

"This is great!" Suzie squealed. "Only one thing."

"Yeah?" James said.

"Who's Harry Porker?"

Everyone groaned. Nick explained. "Only the star of about a dozen books. You're gonna have a lot of reading to do to catch up."

"A DOZEN?! Oh no! I don't wanna be caught in a lie!"

"Well, Michael's a big fan. When he was blind, he listened to all the books on tape. He can explain a lot. Also, all the books were turned into movies. He'd LOVE to see them all with you."

"COOL! I can binge watch and get caught up by Friday!"

"If you can find the time." James replied.

"It'll probably take all of my week, but it'll be worth it!"

Nick started up the van and headed out. Suzie stuck her head back out of the sunroof and started singing. "I got a daaaate! I got a daaaate! I got a-"

 _BONK!_

"Ow! Stupid light pole!"


	4. Chapter 4: Wake up! Little Suzie Wake u

Chapter 4: Wake up! Little Suzie. Wake up!

A/N: _Got that song in your head now! Ha-Ha!_

 _WARNING! This chapter and the remaining ones take place after the Purge storyline. There are some post-Purge spoilers in here. Minor ones, but still._

 _Yeeeah. Maybe writing a side story that mainly stars original characters may have not been the best idea in terms of viewership. The amount of readers I have are down considerably for this story. Luckily, this is a short story and will be wrapped up by chapter 5 or 6._

 _This is my best chapter so far. A good balance of romance and drama and a little bit of humor sprinkled throughout._

 _I put a lot of myself in Junior-Junior. I myself am an introvert. I enjoy the company of myself and when not at work often hole myself up at my computer and PS4. I know it's not healthy and I get myself out as much as possible. The Jumbeaux's house is also like mine. My sister's lazy and my mother's to old to do housecleaning, so I do a lot of the cleaning at home, but often I'm too tired when I get home so I procrastinate on it and things pile up._

 **Friday Evening. 6pm**

Benjamin Clawhauser and his wife Terry (Fangmeyer) waited about front of their house with their foster daughter Suzie. The young giraffe was very excited to go on her first date. She told Junior-Junior that she'd read the latest Harry Porker book with him back at his house. Not exactly the most fun first date, but Suzie didn't have any kids near her size back at school and the prospect of having a boy her size excited her.

"How do I look daddy?" She asked Ben. She was wearing a long, formal dress and a fancy blouse. She was actually overdressed just for book reading.

"You look great sweetie, but...I'm not sure about all of this. You hanging out at a boys home all night?"

"Only till 10! I know the curfew. Mr. Jumbeaux will be dropping me off himself so he'll be responsible. Here he comes now!"

Ben and Terry looked as the large van made it's way over onto their street. Suzie's foster sister Sarah, a crippled mountain lion cub was in Terry's arms. "Are you excited Suzie?"

"Yeah! And nervous. I've never been out with a boy before."

Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. Pulled up to their curb and stepped out. "Hey there Suzie! 'Dis must be yer family. Quite a mixed bunch ya got!"

"Not as mixed as our new mayor's." Ben replied.

"Ha! Yeah. Just a few years ago, I thought that guy would never amount ta anything! Boy was I wrong! Where' my manners? Name's Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. I own 'da Ice Cream parlor down on Chomp street."

"I've been there before!" Ben replied. "Great ice cream."

"Hey thanks! If 'dis works out between our two kids, yer invited 'ta come over for free ice cream anytime."

"GASP! Seriously?!"

"Sure! You tiny mammals are so much smaller 'dan us elephants, it'd be like given you a sample scoop. Ha-Ha!"

"Jerry. You just became my new best friend."

Terry butted in. "I don't think he knows what he's in for with your sweet tooth."

Jerry then looked over at Suzie. "Heeey! Now don't you look lovely today!"

"Tee-Hee! Thanks Mr. Jumbeaux!"

The elephant opened the front passenger door for her. "C'mon in! Don't worry folks. I'll have her back by ten for sure!" He then got on his cell phone. "Greg! Tell yer nerdy-ass brother 'ta get a nice collared shirt on! His girlfriend's all dressed up like she's going to 'da Oxcars!"

As they drove off, Ben started to cry. Terry was concerned. "What's the matter honey?"

"We've only had her over a week and she's already going on dates! They grow up so fast!"

"Well...we did get her when she was mostly grown up already."

"SNIFF! I know."

Moments later, the van arrived at Jerry's home. It was a large house that needed a paint job badly and had a front lawn with some shaggy grass and weeds. Jerry was a bit embarrassed. "Errr..sorry about that. We're the middle of umm...renovatin'. C'mon in!"

She went into the house and it was almost as messy inside. The kitchen sink was full of dishes and there was a pile of clothes in the corner. The only place in decent shape was the living room. "Sorry fer 'da mess." Jerry said. "You should'a seen it before we cleaned up!"

"Oh! It's ummm...fine! It's fine. If you'd like, I can do the dishes later."

"Oh no! No! I can't ask ya to do that."

"I insist! I used to help sister Camella with chores all the time at the orphanage."

"Well ain't you a sweetheart. It's been tough for me and 'da boys since my wife passed."

"But your cafe is so clean and immaculate!"

"Well 'dats my baby! I take good care 'a her. My house, not so much, I'll admit. Lemme go get Jay-Jay. HEY JUNIOR!"

As Jerry went to JJ's room, Suzie saw Greg sitting on the couch watching T.V. "Hey Greg!"

"Hey...Susan is it?"

"Yeah. But everyone calls me Suzie."

"...Cool."

Suzie looked at the large TV. He was watching the soccer game on. "Wow! Huge TV!"

"You haven't had one that size?"

"No. My house is large enough for me. Same size couch, but since I live with much smaller mammals, our TV is pretty small."

"..Ah."

"It's weird that Jay-Jay got the moniker of 'Junior' and you didn't."

"I've been over it a long time."

"Cool...at least you love to make ice cream and get to inherent the place when your dad retires."

"Nope."

"...What?!"

"Jay-Jay gets that too."

"That makes no sense! You're the first born!"

"I know. And please don't bring it up! Me and pops have had a ton of fights about that. He still hasn't told me why."

" _SIGH!_ Alright."

Jerry came out pushing JJ in front of him. "Here's my boy! Say 'Hi!' son!"

"Hey."

"Hey." Suzie replied. There was a moment of tense silence as the two just stood in front of each other. Jerry finally pushed his son in front of her. "Hug her already!"

He shoved Junior-Junior into Suzie's arms. She wrapped her long arms around him and he did as well. "Mmmm!...This...this...is so..." She started to cry. "NIIII-HI-HIIICE!"

JJ was confused. "Are you okay?!"

"I... _SNIFF!_...I never had anyone's arms around me before! Oh! My gosh! It feels so nice!"

JJ was surprised. "No one?"

"I told you. No giraffe's or elephants at my old orphanage. None at my school. My foster siblings are two cougars, my father a fat cheetah and my mother a tiger...SNIFF!...They can hug my face, my head my neck, but not wrap my arms around me like this. This is my first real hug!"

JJ smiled. "Well, I hope I'm good at it."

She kissed him on the cheek. "You are."

Jerry sat on the couch as he was watching the hug unfold. "Awww. Ain't 'dat cute! Now get yer ass in 'da room. Me and Greg are tryin' ta watch the game. Leave the door open!"

Suzie was a bit surprised. "We're...We're reading the book in your room?"

"Is there something wrong?" Junior-Junior asked.

"Oh nothing! It's just...my first date with a boy and I wind up in his bedroom."

Jerry called back to them. "Ah don't worry! Jay-Jay's ain't got a lusty bone in his body. Trust me, I went over his browsing history. Boring as hell."

"I trust him." she replied.

She followed him into his bedroom. It wasn't much cleaner than the living room. "Sorry for the mess" he replied. I've got a lot of collector's stuff and not a lot of room."

"I see." She looked around and saw something. "Ooooh! Is that a collection of wands?!"

"Official replicas from the Harry Porker movies. They're made of real wood."

"Nice!...Can I play with one?"

JJ was nervous about having his collection touched and messed with, but he still wanted to impress her. "Ummm...Ooohhh!...Okay."

She waved a wand around. "Spectral Petroleum!"

"That's not exactly what he says but...close enough." He fished out the book from under his bed. "Here it is! I gotta confess. I took a few sneak peaks at some chapters. I couldn't help myself."

"Well...I have a confession of my own to make. On Monday, I had no clue who Harry Porker was."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah. I binge watched all eleven movies including the extended editions and even watched Ewetube videos of what was missing from the books. I barely got any sleep!"

Junior-Junior was taken back by what she said. "You did that all for me? For this date?!"

The young giraffe blushed. "It was worth it for the hug alone."

"Aww! Thank you." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek with her trunk. "Sorry if that was too forward."

"Tee-Hee! No. Soooo. How are we gonna do this?"

"Well, I guess we'll sit on the bed and just read the book together."

"O-O-On your bed?! This is going too fast for me!"

"Susan, we're just reading."

"I know, it just feels weird. I get here, I'm in your room and then I'm in your bed."

"Reading a book."

"You make it sound so...so...perfectly innocent!"

"It is!"

"Okay! Okay. I'm being ridiculous I guess. So...do we read out loud or just quietly together?"

"We might read at different speeds. Then we gotta wait for the other to finish."

"Yeah, that's kind of a pain. Oh! I got it! It's romantic too."

"Oh?"

Suzie moved JJ's pillows and sat on the end of his bed. "Here! I'll sit here with my legs folded, you put your head on my lap and I'll read to you."

"Sounds sweet, but it has artwork and I don't want to miss that."

"How about you sit in front of me and I'll be behind you and I can hold the book in front of you and turn the pages while reading to you. We can kinda snuggle and read at the same time."

JJ blushed. "Okay! Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"I came up with it didn't I?"

"Right. Right."

Junior-Junior sat on his bed while Suzie crawled around and sat behind him. She unfolded the book and started reading aloud.

" _Harry Porker and the Mid-Life Crisis by J.K. Growling. It was springtime and the 45 year-old Harry Porker was behind on his taxes. His wife was nagging him to hurry or he'd have to file an extensio-_ Oh my Gosh! I'm bored already. _"_

"It's gone downhill a bit I'll admit, but keep on reading."

" _SIGH!_ Okay."

While Greg and Jerry watched their soccer game in the living room, Suzie kept reading the book to Junior-Junior. The book was boring enough that she started to drift off to sleep. " _And so...Harry filed for an extension, but the man at the office was the 2_ _nd_ _cousin of the evil wizard Moldywart and...he_...zzzzzzzzzz,,,,"

"He what?" JJ asked. "Susan?"

She started to drop the book and her neck slumped over JJ and her head rested on his lap.

"ZzzzzZZZzzzz It'z not six yet mom. I don't wanna get up."

Junior-Junior was trying to nudge her to wake her up. "Wake up Suzie! Wake up!"

"I'm tired daddy. ZZZZzzzzZZZ You change Sarah."

Junior-Junior couldn't help but stare at Suzie for a moment. He was impressed that she went through so much trouble to be with him. He thought he wasn't worth someone so pretty, but here she was trying to impress him. He stroked her face with his trunk. "You really are beautiful." He then went on instinct. He wrapped his trunk around her snout and lifted her head up till their lips met. He kissed her gently as to not wake her in the moment, but it was cut short when his brother and father shouted out "GOOOOALL!" as they were watching the soccer game.

Much to his fear, Suzie woke up mid-kiss. She woke up. Her eyes met his. His was full of fright. She new what was happening in an instant. Her first kiss.

He quickly undid his trunk and backed off. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I should never have done that!"

Suzie wasn't upset in the least. "To be honest, I would have. Oh my gosh! MY first kiss! Now that I'm awake, do that one more time!"

JJ was surprised. "Are you sure?"

"C'mere you little kiss stealer."

He did what she asked. He grabbed her snout by the trunk and pulled in for a kiss. It was longer this time. More passionate. Finally, she backed off. "Okay, that's enough for now. I don't want to have to explain to my dad that we were making out on your bed. Sorry I fell asleep."

"The book is kinda dull. The ummm...kiss thing. Does that mean you're my girlfriend now?"

"Nooo. We gotta go on at least another date or two."

"Aww!"

"I'm not gonna rush into anything like my mom and dad. I barely know you! Let's take a chapter break, okay?"

"You don't have to read any more of this if you want Susan."

"Thanks. I like that you call me by my real name. Nobody else does. Hee-Hee! Kinda makes you special. So...let's get to know each other better. As you know, I'm originally from an orphanage. Ben and Terry Clawhauser adopted me and my crippled, baby cougar foster sister Sarah last week. They have a giraffe-sized apartment so I'm good there. I'm an inventor. I'm really good at building stuff. I recently built a three-way fire hose when I was helping put out that burning building Tuesday."

"I saw that on the news!" JJ said. "You're a real hero! Do you want to be a firefighter when you grow up?"

"Not really. Engineering is my thing so I want that to be my major in college. Besides, I had to help. The fire almost burned my building down. Mom was upset that I left the safety of the apartment during the riots, but she's forgiven me since. I'm also outgoing, love to go shopping and going to the movies. How about you?"

"HA! Nothing much to me. When I'm not working at the ice cream parlor, I stay home in this room either playing games, looking at social media or writing up my stupid fanfics. I hate going out and mingling. I do like to go by myself to the movies and the arcade though. But mostly, I stay in here. In the safety of my room like a little cocoon. I know I need to get out more, but...I''m happy here."

"Hmmm...It's less like a cocoon and more like a womb. You're happy because everything you want is here and you don't have to socialize. That's not healthy."

"I know. But I'm comfortable with you. You're the first person outside of my family in this room. I haven't even had James in here."

"I'm honored!...I guess. But Jay-Jay, if I'm gonna be your girlfriend, you're gonna have to get out more and socialize. Sooo...how about a movie on Saturday?"

"I gotta work all day."

"All day?! Sheesh! Sunday?"

"I'm good then! We close on Sundays for church and family time."

"Great! The movies it is! Rat One: A Star Boars story is out."

"I'm dying to see that!"

"Great! We'll go early enough since it's a school night."

"That's okay. I'm home schooled."

" 'Home-Schooled?' As in...you stay home when all the other kids go to school?!"

"Yeah."

"Lucky!"

"Not really. It's dull and dad barely pays attention to my lessons. He just signs them over. I have to do most of my school work during my lunch break."

"No wonder you're an introvert. You can't socialize if you're not in school."

"I was, but...I got bullied real bad. I was the only elephant at the school and...and I was mocked and teased a lot."

"They were smaller than you! You could've easily stomped them!"

"It wasn't physical bullying. It was their words. They called me Dumbo, fat ass, big ears. _SNIFF!_ Told me to kill myself!"

Suzie embraced Junior-Junior from behind. "They're a bunch of...of...a-holes! Why are they calling you fat?! You're an elephant! Show me a skinny elephant and I'll say 'Get that...that guy a burger and fries cuz' he's gonna die of starvation!' "

JJ chuckled. "Yeah. We ARE supposed to be fat. That's just nature."

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A writer. I like telling stories. I just need to get better at spelling and grammar."

"Do you think?...If you were at school with me...do you think you'd go back?!"

"With you?..." JJ smiled. "Yeah. Yeah I would. I want to. I'm not learning well with dad, but I hate being bullied!"

"They bully you harder because you're too shy to fight back. I'm not. I'll kick their asses!"

"Hee-Hee!"

"And so will Amy! And Sylvester!"

"...Do they go to your school?"

"Yep. Spots will be there in January. If we end up...y'know, liking each other and you go to my school, I'll make sure no one hurts you anymore."

"...Okay."

She squeezed him hard. "AWESOME! Now, I do have a question that's been driving me crazy."

"What?"

"Do you...do you LIKE working at the ice cream place all day?"

"Not all day. I need a break! It's not my passion. It's Greg's."

"Then why is HE not getting the cafe when your dad retires? Why were you given the moniker of 'Junior'?"

"I really don't know."

Suzie stood up out off the head and pulled JJ up. "I'm gonna ask him."

JJ panicked. "No! Don't! It won't do any good!"

"Why not?"

"He gets real mad about it!"

"But it's not fair! You shouldn't be at work all day and just doing school on the computer during breaks! You're 12! You need to be free and get out more! He's using you as free child labor because your his kid! Greg loves making ice cream! HE should take over! I like your dad, but I'm giving him a piece of my mind!"

"No! Wait! Susan please!"

Suzie stormed out of JJ's bedroom. "Mr. Jumbaeux! We need to talk!"

Jerry stood up. "Good timing! 'Da game just ended. Really good one too!"

"Our team won!" said Greg.

"So what's up? Did Junior here try to go to second base or somethin'?"

"No!" Suzie replied. "Well...kinda. We kiss on the bed for a little bit."

Jerry was elated. "Alright! Junior! You stud you!"

Suzie held JJ's hand as she talked to Jerry. "Sir..Jay-Jay doesn't want to be an ice-cream man. He wants to be a writer! He needs to go back to school!"

"He doesn't need school! He's in the company business! He'll never want fer nothin'!"

"He WANTS to be a writer! That's what he loves! Greg loves making ice cream! Let HIM run the business!"

"Who the hell are you to talk to me like this?! They're MY sons! I decide who does what!"

"But it's unfair to BOTH of them!"

Greg stood up. "She's right pops."

"Like hell she is!"

"I see my little brother in the cafe and he's miserable! I love the cafe! I love making new recipes and trying out new dishes and...and coming up with new ideas for the place! He doesn't!"

"He'll learn to once he stops writing that crap online."

"He's not getting a good education." Suzie argued.

"He don't need one! I already said! He's got a guaranteed job! Who 'da hell do you think you are?! Comin' inta my house, making me feel guilty about how messy 'da place is! Making out with my son on his bed and 'den criticizing how I raise my son...err...sons!"

It was a moment of clarity for Junior-Junior. He'd ben going it over in his head for ages and now, he figured it out, but was too scared to ask. "Dad...I need to know. Why... _GULP!_ W-Why am I Junior and not my older brother?"

"I-I don't know! Because me and yer mom didn't think about 'dat at first!"

"Why wouldn't you? You call the place your 'empire'. You treat us like a monarchy. You'd wanna pass the torch down to your first born! I figured it out dad! _SNIFF!_ Tell Greg! Tell him! He deserves to know!"

Greg was scared. "T-Tell me what?"

Jerry leered at Suzie. "Damn you!"

JJ got angry. "Don't yell at her! It's not her fault! Why was Greg named 'Greg' and not 'Jerry Junior-Junior'?!"

"BECAUSE HE ALREADY HAD A NAME!"

There was a long silence. Jerry and Junior-Junior were breathing heavily. Tears running down their cheeks.

Greg was in shock. "Pops?...Dad?...What are you saying?"

Suzie thought she had the right answer. "Oh...my...God...HE'S FROM THE FUTURE! Greg! You can time travel?! Do you have your own time machine?! Where is it?!"

Jerry was stunned. He looked over at Junior-Junior. "Y'know, she may be cute, but she ain't bright!"


	5. Chapter 5: Wanted

Chapter 5: Wanted

"I'M ADOPTED?!" Greg screamed.

"Now calm down." Jerry explained. "I-I can explain everything!"

"Can you explain how you've been lying to me for 19 years?!"

"Me and Marge couldn't find the right time!"

"When was the right time?! When I was married and with children?! I'm out of high school now and working for you full time! Who...Who? Oh God! I'm gonna barf!"

Greg shoved Suzie over as he ran into the bathroom. He couldn't handle this shocking turn of events. He hovered is face over the toilet bowl. "HUUUWAAARFF!"

Jerry ran past Suzie. He was still upset with her but the only word her could get out was "Homewrecker!"

Suzie felt horrible. "I-I didn't mean for this to happen! I feel so bad!"

Junior-Junior was curious. "What made you think he was from the future?"

"Well, if your dad was giving the business to you and gave you the moniker of 'Junior' then I figured you must have been the first born. That meant the Greg was the SECOND born and since he was older, he must have traveled from the future."

"Instead of being adopted?"

"My theory's cooler!"

Jerry rubbed Greg's back as he was vomiting. "Greg! Son, you have to understand..."

"I'M NOT YOUR SON!" He screamed. Greg spit and wiped his mouth off then ran out of the house as fast as he could, bawling his eyes out. "BAAWW-HAAW-HAAAAW!"

Jerry ran behind him. "GREG! GREEEG!" He stopped and sneered at Suzie. "This is all your fault!"

Junior-Junior stood between Jerry and Suzie with anger in his eyes. "No dad! It's YOUR fault! This should've been handled by you a long time ago, but you were too chicken to tell him!"

Jerry was taken back. "You...you're yelling at me?!"

JJ immediately backed down. "I'm sorry."

Suzie rubbed his shoulders. "No! No! This is good! You're expressing yourself! Get it out!"

"Dad...I'm standing up for Suzie. I'm standing up for Greg and myself! SHE'S not the one that screwed up. YOU did!"

Jerry was dumbfounded by JJ's words and it took a moment to sink in. "Oh yeah?! Well you...you... _SIGH!_ No, your right. Me and your mother should have had that talk with him before you were even born. I-I'm sorry Junior...Suzie."

"Thank you sir." Suzie replied. "But...Greg's ran off and we need to find him."

That woke Jerry out of his funk. "Ah Jeez! Yer right! Let's get out 'dere and find my son! Junior! You check 'da Tundratown bridge! Suzie! Check the park! I'll check the ice cream parlor!"

They all split up and ran off. The elephants were shouting out. "Greg! Greg! Where are you?!"

Suzie went over to the park. "GREG! GREG!"

"Keep it down!" said Greg. Who was sitting on a bench. "Haven't you done enough damage?"

Suzie was relieved. She ran up gave the elephant a hug. "Oh Greg! Thank goodness I found you! Are you okay?!"

Greg shoved her off. "No. No I'm not. I'm not okay! I just found out my dad is not my real dad!"

"He IS your real dad Greg! He and your mother took care of you since you were a tiny infant! Hold on, I gotta call Jay-Jay."

Suzie got on the phone. "Hello Jay-Jay?! I found him! He's at the park!"

" _I'll tell dad and we'll be right there!"_ JJ responded. _"Don't let him go!"_

"Okay!" With that, Suzie leaped onto the ground and grabbed onto Greg's legs.

"What are you doing?!"

"He said not to let you go until they got there."

"Relax would you?! I'm not gonna leave. I'm...I'm just trying to absorb all of this."

Suzie got back up and sat on the bench next to him. "Greg, you should consider yourself incredibly lucky."

"For what?! Being lied to for 19 years?! For feeling like an outcast?! For finally realizing why dad was so focused on giving Jay-Jay the business?!"

"For being wanted and loved! Greg...you have no other memories other than the people that raised you being your parents. I was in an orphanage for twelve years. Twelve! Years! Before somebody wanted me enough to take me in. Being adopted was my biggest fantasy. The day Ben and Terry Clawhauser adopted me and Sarah was the happiest day of my life! Being adopted means that somebody loved you enough to take you into their home, feed you and raise you as their own!"

"I guess so, but it still hurts. It hurts knowing pops cares more about Jay-Jay than me!"

"No he doesn't!"

"Yes he does! Why else would he hand over the parlor to Jay-Jay instead of me?! I love making ice cream! I love seeing the smiles on everyone's face when my newest flavor is a hit! Jay-Jay wants something different! Pops...He always values how the parlor was a family business. I was founded in the 1930's by our great grandpa. He handed it down to his son, who handed it down to his son, who's now passing me over for his BLOOD son. Like it's some kind of monarchy!"

"I'm sorry Greg. I don't have an answer for that. It is a jerk move."

It was then that Suzie felt a rumbling. She new Greg's family herd was closing in. Junior-Junior arrived ahead of his dad. "GREG!" He hugged his brother close. "Nothing's changed! You'll always be my big brother! I love you!"

Greg hugged him back. "Thanks sport. I love you too."

Jerry was finally catching up. "GREG! _Pant! Pant!_ Hold on. _GASP!_ Gotta catch some air. I ain't as young as I used 'ta be. _GASP!_ Junior, Susan, go back to 'da house. I think I left 'da door open. I need to talk 'ta my son. Alone."

"Well...okay." said Suzie. She kissed Greg on the forehead. "Bye Greg. Remember, they WANTED you. You weren't just born, you were chosen."

"Thanks Suzie." he replied.

Suzie and JJ left. Jerry sat next to his son on the bench and the seat creaked loudly under their enormous weight. "Yer mother and I...we...we've been wantin' 'ta tell you about 'dis fer a long time. Every time we thought we found the right opportunity...we chickened out. It's long overdue that I told you 'da full story."

"LONG overdue." Greg replied.

"Heh-heh!...Yeah. This is weird 'ta talk about with your son, but...I have a low sperm count. VERY low. Fer the life of me, I couldn't get your mother pregnant. We tried everything. Pills, positions, keeping track of her cycle. We started to schedule our lives around it. Absolutely no luck. I was getting' older and I wanted to keep my father and his father's father's legacy alive."

"...The legacy of running and ice cream cafe."

"Ya make it sound like it's nothing! IT may seem silly, but it's everything 'ta me!"

"Me too pops. I'm sorry. Go on."

"Well...We gave up. We went to 'da orphanage and 'dere you were. Only six months old. Such a beautiful, young boy. We have no idea who your blood mother was, only 'dat she was real young. Too young to raise a child. Her boyfriend probably got her pregnant at a young age and she left you at the orphanage. 'Da only thing the nun would tell us was 'dat she was in her early teens."

"So I was an accident."

Jerry put an arm over his son. "You were a gift son! A gift from God! You were just want we always wanted. You... _SNIFF!_!...You should'a seen 'da look on yer mother's face when we brought you home. I never saw her so happy in her life. You were ours."

"And then Junior-Junior came."

"Yeah. Now THAT was a surprise! A miracle! I think it was partially because me and yer mother stopped trying to schedule a pregnancy and started...well...having fun. We were relaxed. With all of that stress taken off, it felt like when we were young again. We were so...so happy. But then...I did something stupid."

"What's that pops?"

"Since Junior was my blood son, I made my legacy about him instead of you. I was very wrong for doing so. You were right. Because he was my son of my own loins, I made it all about him. But he has no love of my business. He wants 'ta do his own thing, but you...you LOVE 'da business! Yer always comin' up with some new flavor and some idea fer 'da place. That's why...I changed my mind. Son, when I retire, 'da place is yours."

"You...you mean it pops?!"

" 'Course I do! I've been so stupid. Jumbeaux's Cafe will always Jumbeaux's Cafe as long as 'Dere's a Jumbeaux runnin' it."

Greg patted him on the back. "That's right pops."

"So...are you okay son?"

"It's still a lot to take in but...yeah. I'm okay."

Jerry hugged his son. "I love you son."

"I love you too pops. And Suzie was right. You wanted me. You chose me."

"Heh-Heh! Yeah. You are 'The chosen one' "

Greg chuckled and Jerry followed suit. "Aaah. I wish Marge was here 'ta see 'dis. God rest her soul. C'mon! Let's go. I'll treat ya to an ice cream."

"Really?" Greg chuckled. "Gee I wonder where we can get an ice cream at this hour?"

"I think I know a place." Jerry winked.

Meanwhile,Suzie and Junior-Junior were back at the Jumbeaux home. "Boy! I really made a mess of things." Suzie said.

"No you didn't." JJ replied. "This needed to come out sooner rather than later."

"Well, I still feel like I need to make up for it. Do you have an apron nearby?"

"There's some old ones from the cafe in the hamper."

"Gimmie one of those. I'm gonna get at these dishes."

"Aww Susan. You don't have to."

"Yes I do! Besides, they're driving me nuts just looking at them! While I'm doing that, you fetch out the vacuum."

"Okay. Some first date. You reading a boring book until you fall asleep, almost break apart my family and ending up doing household chores."

"I prefer to see it as getting my first kiss, helping the family bond through a crisis and making myself at home. I just hope your father will forgive me."

One hour later, Greg and Jerry were heading back up the driveway into the house. They were laughing and had mended their relationship. "And so I told 'da guy 'looks like ya got pistachio on yer mustache-io!"

"Ha-Ha! Good one pops. So...It's been four years since mom passed. Are you ever gonna get on the dating scene again?"

"Well...don't tell Junior, but 'dere's one gal I got my eye on."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. There's 'dis gal my age named Nanji who does yoga...totally nude."

"No kiddin'?"

"Yeah! At 'da Mystic Spring Oasis. I'm gonna try some lessons on Sunday. I'll be goin' 'dere with my trunk out AND my junk out! Show her what a real elephant looks like."

"Errr...well, you might be disappointed pops."

"How so?!"

"It really is mystic. They say it has a magical spell around it that makes your genitals and nipples invisible while you're at the location."

"Aww rats! Still...I hear she's single. Couldn't hurt."

They entered into the house and were immediately stunned. Their jaws dropped The dishes were done, boxes of food were in the pantry and the counter tops were sparkling clean. They entered the living room to see Suzie and JJ watching anime on the couch. "Hey guys! You're back!" Suzie exclaimed.

Junior-Junior ran over and hugged his brother again. "Glad you're back. Is everything okay?"

"Never better." said Greg.

Jerry was still stunned as he looked around his cleaned living room. He finally fixed his eyes on Suzie. "...You!"

Suzie was a little worried. "M-Me?"

"You did this?!"

"Well...n-not just me. Me and Jay-Jay."

Jerry slowly lurched closer to Suzie. The scared giraffe started to back off a little, and until Jerry lunged...

...and gave her a huge hug. The middle-aged elephant was in tears. "Thank you! SNIFF! Thank you so much! Yer saint Sue! A saint!"

"Aww! It wasn't anything. I did chores all the time at the orphanage."

Jerry then went over to JJ. "You see 'dat girl? I want you 'ta treat her like a queen, cuz I want her in our family! Ya hear?!"

"HA! Yes dad."

"Now, that said. I got some news for you."

"What?"

"Well fer one, 'da cafe is going to Greg when I retire."

"Good! He deserves it."

"And two, yer fired."

"Ha! What?!"

"Well...not exactly. Yer goin' from full time to part time at the cafe. I want you goin' back 'ta school. I think ya do have a talent at writin' stories, but yer grammar is crap! The next semester starts in January. Until then, I want you to try and have more of a social life."

"But dad!"

"No buts! Yer takin' tomorrow off and yer gonna take this lovely lady to 'da movies and maybe to 'da arcade 'er somethin'."

"A Saturday?! That's our busiest day. Are you sure?!"

"Positive. Look. I learned somethin' tonight. A legacy is about a hell of a lot more 'dan yer bloodline. It's about 'da family you make. Come 'ta think of it, I guess...I guess 'dats why I was happy 'dat you found a girl who was interested in ya despite her not being an elephant. My legacy lives on not through blood or DNA, but through my last name which will live on long after I'm gone."

Suzie thought about that for a moment. "Suzie Jumbeaux."

Junior-Junior looked at her with a smile that made her blush. "Hey! J-Just a moment now! I'm only twelve! Just because I'm looking at the size doesn't mean I'm buying the dress, buster!"

Jerry couldn't help but laugh. Suzie continued. "Soo...what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"Ummm...wanna move our Sunday date to Saturday?"

"Sure! I'll talk to Sylvester and Amy and see if they want to make it a double date."

"Sounds great!"

"We'll go to the movies, then to the arcade and maybe even so some karaoke!"

"K-Karaoke?! M-Maybe we can cut that part out!"

"Don't worry, you don't have to sing."

"Thank you Susan."

She then kissed him and spoke gently into his ear. "And you know what I'm gonna do Sunday?" she said with a flirty voice.

"W-what?"

"I'm gonna get up, go with my family to church."

"Yeah?"

"Then... I'm gonna more time with them."

"Yeah?"

"And then...I'm gonna spend time with Spots and James and leave you the heck alone so you can have your quiet, 'me' time. Because you are an introvert and you need time alone."

Junior-Junior was blushing. "Awww Su-Su! You understand me!"

"EEEE! My first pet name!"

Jerry looked at his watch. "Alright! It's time I took this little gal back home. You two smooch or whatever and let's go!"

Suzie and JJ locked lips for a brief moment. "Thanks for the date." Suzie said. "It was...interesting to say the least!"

"Yeah." JJ replied. "I'll text you the time for tomorrow."

"Okay! I'll talk to Amy."

"So...Are you my girlfriend now?"

Suzie giggled. She lifted JJ's trunk and kissed his nostrils. "One more date sweetie. BLEECHH! PITOOIE! That was a bad idea! I can taste elephant boogers."

The family laughed and Jerry escorted Suzie into the van. They drove off and within minutes, they were back at the Clawhauser home.

Before Suzie stepped out, Jerry had a moment alone with her. "Listen...I just wanted ta say...thanks. Thanks fer everything."

"It's okay. I almost made things worse."

"It if wasn't fer you, I may never have found 'da courge ta tell Greg 'da truth. And with what yer doin' fer my son and how you cleaned our house, we knew we wanted you as part of our family. So...here."

Jerry handed Suzie a small trinket. "What's this?"

"It's 'da keys to our house. I got them copied just fer you. Mi casa es' Su casa or in this case, SuZIE'S casa."

"I don't speak Japanese but thank you! Mr. Jumbeaux, even if Jay-Jay doesn't end up my boyfriend, I promise he'll be my best friend. I gotta get going now. I see my dad peeking from behind our blinds. Goodbye!"

"Bye Suzie!"

With that, Jerry left and Suzie entered the house. She told her family all about her first date. They weren't too thrilled about her kissing on JJ's bed, but overall, they were happy that she had a good time and helped strengthen the Jumbeaux's family. All except Ben who looked concerned.

"What's wrong daddy?" Suzie asked.

"Oh nothing. It's just...You're happy here right? I mean, it's nice that you have another home to go, but..."

Suzie picked up Ben and hugged him like a teddy bear. "Oh daddy. The Jumbeaux's are very nice, but this will always be my home."

Ben hugged her back. Safe in knowledge that he'd have his not-so little girl with him for at least a few more years.


	6. Chapter 6: And then ya die

Chapter 6: "And then ya die."

A/N: _Okay, let's wrap this up! I'm chomping at the bit to get to the climax of the Big Cheese arc. I was gonna do a more detailed bit of the second date but decided there wasn't enough interesting stuff there, so I'm gonna rush through it to the next Monday night where we introduce a girl for Sam who's very unusual and very funny. Shame I don't have plans for many of these characters any time in the near future, but this was meant to be a side story for Suzie and not really have any kind of strong focus for the main arc._

 **Saturday, November 7th**

The second date went very well for Suzie and Junior-Junior. They met up with Sylvester and Amy to watch "Rat One: A Star Boars Story". They sat in the back row which is exclusive for large mammals and shared a bucket of popcorn and a VERY large soda with two straws. Sylvester and Amy sat in the back too, but they behaved themselves as Amy's war veteran grandpa was with them. Along with Suzie's war veteran grandpa, Redford. Afterwards they enjoyed some bowling and played some arcade games during which, the grandfathers bonded over some old war stories. Later on, they did karaoke and Suzie finally managed to get a very reluctant Junior-Junior to sing a duet with her. Overall, it was a wonderful double date for them.

Suzie and Junior-Junior said goodbye to Amy and Sylvester. Redford waited at the Jumbeaux's front lawn as Suzie and JJ said their goodbyes for the evening. They held ….hands? (okay, I looked over the ice cream scene to realize that Jerry's hands are his feet and he has no opposeable digits. The giraffe's in the film at least have hands.) Suzie was still about three feet taller than JJ so she bent down her neck to meet him face to face.

"I had a wonderful time today."

"M-Me too." The nervous elephant replied. "So...does this mean?"

"Sshhhh!" The giraffe leaned in and kissed him. "I'll see you Monday...my love."

JJ's ears perked up. "So...So you're my girlfriend?!"

"Well DUUUHHH!"

JJ pumped his fist. "YESSS!"

This made Suzie giggle. "Have a good day by yourself tomorrow."

"Can...Can I text you?"

"Sure! Anytime. OH! We can change our status on Furbook as 'in a relationship!' "

"Awesome!" The elephant replied. "And remember what dad said, you're welcome here anytime. He really likes you."

"I'm glad." She gave him another quick kiss goodbye. "See you Monday!"

JJ waved goodbye. "Bye Su-Su!"

"Bye Jay-Jay!"

Suzie left for home with her grandfather. The next day Suzie's family went to church and then to lunch together. James and Spots came over and Suzie and Spots played Terry's retro games together while James fussed and played with his 'half-sister' Sarah. All during that time, JJ would occasionally text Suzie. While others found it annoying, Suzie loved it. It meant that Junior-Junior was opening up more and not just sheltering himself in his room. She realized that the reason the Jumbeaux's loved her so much, was because she was outgoing. She loved people. She didn't hide in her room. She was an extrovert. Which is just what an introvert like Junior-Junior needed to get out of his comfort zone and enjoy being with others. She was yin to his yang.

 **Monday, November 9th 5pm**

Suzie walked into Jumbeaux's cafe with her family in tow. Jerry saw her from behind the counter and was happy to see her. "H-Hey! Suzie! Yer friends are waitin' for ya! Junior will be right out!"

"Thanks Mr. Jumbeaux!" Suzie replied. She then turned to her parents. "Thanks for coming. I'll introduce you to Jay-Jay later. Right now I'm gonna say 'hi' to my friends."

Suzie walked over to her table. Sylvester and Amy were in the same corner as well as James and Spots who sat on the other side. "Hey guys!"

"Hey big little sis!" James replied.

"Is everyone here?"

"We're just waiting on Sam and Junior-Junior. Speaking of..."

Sam was just walking up to the table. "Hey Suzie! Get me up to my table on the table would ya?!"

"Sure thing Sam!" She replied and then picked up the mole so he was on his table.

It was then that Junior-Junior came out. The gang was surprised to see him bright and chipper. "Hey guys!...Su-Su!"

"Jay-Jay!"

The two walked over and gave each other a hug and a kiss. "Jay-Jay. My family is sitting over there. They'd like to meet you."

"Sure thing!" The young elephant replied. He then turned to excuse himself from the table. "Be right back dudes! Hey Sam! I like your shirt!"

Sam was stunned by JJ's friendliness. "Uhh thanks." Sam watched as JJ walked over to Suzie's folks. Surprisingly bright and chipper. He turned to James. "Okay, two questions. One, who kidnapped Junior-Junior and replaced him with this doppelganger and two, can we convince him to stay and let them keep the old one?"

James laughed. "Shows you what having a girlfriend can do to your self-esteem."

"I need self-esteem! Where's my gal?!"

Meanwhile, Suzie introduced JJ to her parents. "Mom. Dad. Sarah. This is my boyfriend, Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. Jr. AKA Junior-Junior or Jay-Jay for short."

"Hi Jay-Jay!" Terry said.

Ben waved hello. "So this is the young man who's taking my little girl away from me?"

"N-No sir!" the young elephant replied. "I'm not taking her from you! I promise!"

Ben chuckled. "It's okay! I'm just teasing you a bit."

Sarah point at the young elephant. "He's really fat like you daddy!"

Terry couldn't help but laugh, but Ben shushed her. "Sarah! You shouldn't say things like that!"

"It's okay." JJ said. "After all, if you ever saw a skinny elephant, you'd better get him to the hospital."

The group laughed. Greg came out to take the family's order, so Suzie and JJ headed back to their friends. Ben watched as Suzie left. He gave a deep, depressing sigh.

"What's wrong dear?" Terry asked.

"Oh nothing. It's just...it feels like our not-so little girl is growing up very fast. It won't be too long before she leaves home for good."

Terry rubbed Ben's back. "You don't know that! Trust me dear, she'll be with us for a long time."

"I'm not so sure. She's so good with them and they can offer her a bigger family that's more her size! What if we get left out?!"

Greg then approached the table. "Hey folks! My name's Greg. I'm Jay-Jay's brother. I'll be taking your orders. In the meantime, Suzie told me you're a big doughnut fan Ben. Is that right?"

"Only the biggest!"

"Great! I'm trying about a new dish called 'Doughnut delights'. It's vanilla with caramel swirls and chunks of apple fritter and doughnut holes mixed in. Care to give it a try?"

Greg put down a sample bowl in front of Ben which he immediately grabbed. "Sure!" He then took a few bites and was in heavenly bliss. Chewing his way though the ice cream. "Mmmmmm! Thish ish sho good!"

"Great to hear! I'm always trying out new ice cream ideas and you're welcome to sample them."

Greg took their order and left. Ben was much more happy and content than earlier. "Y'know honey? I think this is gonna work out okay."

Terry chuckled. "Well, if she breaks your heart at least your stomach will be happy."

Meanwhile, everyone was back at the gaming table. Sylvester was looking over at James and Spots. Spots was nibbling at James neck a little bit and occasional kissing and rubbing their cheeks together. "Well you two seem a lot closer than last week." he observed.

Spots agreed. "Well...after last Tuesday, there's a lot about me that's changed."

"Oh? Like what?"

"You'll have to wait until the next story to find out."

"...Hunh?!"

"It's a fourth wall thing. But it does start off with a prologue of me and James' first major kiss."

"Oh...okay I guess?"

Sam was ready to play. "Alright! Everybody all set?" He looked around the table. Amy had her head on Sylvester's shoulder, Suzie was wrapping her neck around JJ like a scarf and giving him quick kisses on the cheek and James and Spots had their arms around each other."

"Oh great!" Sam said. "It's like Noah's Ark around here, except Sylvester and Amy are the only ones paired who can procreate. . _.SNIFF!_ It's not fair! Everyone's got someone except me."

Sam got on his knees and yelled to the skies. "Isn't there anyone out there for Samuel Moleson?!"

Suddenly, he heard a voice. A voice like an incredibly homely angel. "Is there any lactose in your ice cream?"

Sam looked over to see a young star-nosed mole girl ordering ice cream. She had a frosted blonde wig on, a filthy blouse and garish earrings. She was standing on the counter top and talking to Jerry.

" 'Course it's got lactose!" Jerry replied. "Why? You lactose intolerant?"

"I don't wanna risk it. Ya eat the ice cream, ya pass gas or possibly crap yerself in front of everyone. Yer super embarrassed and yer heart rate goes up, then you have a heart attack and then ya die."

"Look kid, yer not gonna die from eating ice cream. Now hurry up and make a selection!"

"I'll take the earthworm surprise."

Sam was excited. "James! Look! A mole girl! Fate has smiled upon me!"

"Yeah." James replied. "That, or the author has a weird obsession with pairing everyone."

"I'm gonna woo her with my mating call?"

"Moles have a mating call?"

"You don't know all about me! Watch me make my sexy siren ...AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Everyone in the cafe looked around at Sam like he was a freak. The mole girl caught his call and responded. "RREEEEEEEE!"

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

"RREEEEEEEEE!"

Sam got excited. "She's responding! Jim! Put me down! Quick!"

James put Sam down and he quickly ran over the the star-nosed mole.

"Are you the one who made the mating call?" she asked.

"Yeah. My name's Samuel. Pleased to meet you!"

"My name's Daisy."

"Oh! Like the flower. Just like how your nose is like a beautiful flower in bloom and not some weird alien with tiny tentacles trying to crawl out of your face."

"You're very flattering. So you want to mate me?"

"WHAT?! N-No no. Not exactly! I mean, I'd like to get to know you better and maybe date you."

"You made the mating call."

"Well, th-that was more to get your attention. I mean, we're both kinda young right? I'm fourteen."

"I'm fifteen. You're the first man to show any attraction to me. My mom wants me to have children before I turn twenty, but she also thought I'd die alone. How's your sperm count?"

"...What?!"

"I don't wanna risk being with someone who's infertile. Ya think everything's good and ya get married and ya can't have any kids so ya end up blaming each other and ya get divorced and ya grow old alone and then ya die. I have a small tube in my purse if you wish to ejaculate a sample."

"...I...uhhh...No. Not right here...I'm...ummmm...I'll visit my doctor this week."

"Get your blood checked too. Do you have any known diseases?"

"...No! Look, I'm just interested in you okay?! Would you like to meet my friends?"

"Do they have any know diseases transmittable by air?"

"Not that I know of."

"Mmmm...okay. I guess you can be my potential mate. You're not too ugly for a mole."

"We're moles Daisy. We ain't exactly the cutest species."

"My mother once said Star-nosed moles were God's way of challenging himself to take an ugly animal like the common mole and say to himself 'How can I take this thing and make it even more hideous?' "

Sam put her arm around her. "Aww! I don't think yer that ugly!"

"I'll have ta take yer word for it. I can barely see myself in the mirror."

"Yeah. We moles are pretty dang blind. Hey! At least you make up for it with a super sense of smell AND touch!"

"With the added bonus of having a tiny octopus in the front of my face."

James helped Sam and Daisy back onto the table where Sam's tiny table was. He only had one seat so Jay-Jay went and got an extra of the tiny seats so they could sit together.

"Guys, this is Daisy. Daisy? These are my friends."

"We're gonna be playing a tabletop RPG." Spots said. "Do you want to play with us?"

"I dunno. You're not devil worshipers are you?"

"What?!...No. Of course not!"

"I read in one of those little religious comics they give out at my liquor store that they lead to Satanism. First yer playin' what looks like an innocent game, then yer gettin' tied to a table fer a blood sacrifice, then yer stabbed ta death and then ya die and possibly wind up in hell."

"Well that's completely wrong." James said. "It's just a game where you go out on adventures and use your imagination to play through it. There's not even any devils in the game."

"Well...okay."

Sam looked over at Spots "So what's our game for tonight?!"

Spots pulled out a box. "I got a new one!It's called 'Pirate Adventures Ho!' You play as pirates in the open sea!"

Sam had his head down in disappointment, "..Oh."

Spots removed the cover to reveal another game. "Psyche! It's Dragon Clan Wars! Up to eight players battle with four different dragon clans with the elements of fire, ice, darkness and light! Since we're all paired up, it's perfect!"

Sam pumped his fists in excitement. "YES! Spots, I love you!"

That got Daisy riled. She got out her seat and growled at Spots. "Stay away from him! He's mine! I need him for reproduction purposes and possibly companionship and financial gain!"

Sam pulled her back. "Relax babe! I meant 'love' in a platonic way."

"...Oh. Sorry."

"She just knows how much I love dragons."

"I love them too, but I prefer the term 'Wyverns.' "

" _GASP!_ Really?! I think I just found my soul mate! Daisy, will you marry me?!"

"I still need that sperm count."

Amy started handing out the rule sheets, but Daisy refused one. "No thanks. You can tell me the rules. I try not ta touch paper. First, someone hands ya a paper, you miss and it hits ya on the wrist and ya get a paper cut on one of yer vital arteries, then ya start gushing out blood and then ya die."

Daisy then ripped out a huge fart, offending everyone. _"FFFRRRRRBBBTTT!"_

"Woah! What was that about?!" Sam said. "Didn't you tell Jerry that you didn't want lactose cuz farting might make you die of embarrassment?!"

"Why risk holding it in? First ya feel a fart comin' on, then ya hold it back, then the pressure from the gas builds, then ya rupture your colon and then..."

"Yeah. Yeah. I know!" San leaned over and whispered to James. "Hey Jim! Ya know that old expression where ya wanted something real bad, but you didn't get it and it ends up being much better that you never got it to begin with?"

"You mean 'I dodged a bullet?' "

"Yeah. I totally forgot to dodge!"

"Well, that's life."

"Well life sucks!"

"...'And then ya die.' Heh!-Heh!-Heh!"

"...Shut up."


End file.
